On Wednesday, the second-largest wildfire in Texas history tore through the state’s panhandle, accompanied by multiple other significant blazes. This led to evacuations, homes being destroyed, and a temporary shutdown of the nation’s main nuclear weapons facility.
An 83-year-old grandmother from the small town of Stinnett was confirmed as the sole fatality. However, authorities have not conducted a comprehensive search for victims yet and cautioned that the damage to some communities is extensive.
The fires started last Monday but escalated rapidly on Tuesday due to strong winds, dry weather, and record-breaking unseasonably high temperatures, fueling their swift expansion.
By Wednesday, the largest fire, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, had spread across 850,000 acres, approximately 1,300 square miles, spanning several counties and extending into neighboring Oklahoma, as reported by the Texas A&M Forest Service.
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The Smokehouse Creek Fire, slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island, ranks among the largest wildfires in Texas’ history. It follows closely behind the 2006 Amarillo East Complex fires, which claimed 12 lives and scorched over 900,000 acres.
Further south, the Windy Deuce Fire consumed 142,000 acres of land, with 30% of the fire contained as of Wednesday evening, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.
In another location, the Grape Vine Creek Fire, situated northeast of Amarillo, Texas, burned 30,000 acres and was 60% contained. Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fires that ravaged sparsely populated counties nestled within expansive high plains.
Bill Kendall, the Emergency Management Coordinator for Hemphill County, disclosed that approximately 40 homes were destroyed around the outskirts of Canadian, a rural town northeast of Amarillo, Texas.
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However, no structures were lost within the community itself. Kendall described the scorched landscape as resembling “a moonscape.” Additionally, Bill Kendall reported witnessing “hundreds of cattle just dead, lying in the fields.” Tresea Rankin captured footage of her home engulfed in flames in Canadian.
Reflecting on the loss, Rankin shared, “Thirty-eight years of memories, that’s what you were thinking. Two of my kids were married there … But you know, it’s OK, the memories won’t go away.”
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre announced that President Joe Biden is being regularly briefed on the wildfires.
“We are grateful for the courageous firefighters and first responders who are striving to safeguard people and preserve lives,” Jean-Pierre expressed.
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She emphasized the importance of residents in affected areas staying alert and following the guidance of local authorities, particularly those instructed to evacuate.
Karen Jean-Pierre stated that the administration continues to communicate with state and local authorities and is prepared to offer additional assistance as required. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted two fire management assistance grants to Texas and one to Oklahoma.
These intense wildfires in Texas are part of a series of severe weather events occurring nationwide, including tornadoes in Illinois and a widespread occurrence of record-high temperatures in the eastern United States.
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